


If You Love Me

by licenseddrugdealer



Series: Fantastic Beasts [4]
Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies)
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Manipulation, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Psychological Torture, Psychological Trauma, Torture, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-21
Updated: 2018-01-25
Packaged: 2018-09-10 19:06:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 15
Words: 11,932
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8929789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/licenseddrugdealer/pseuds/licenseddrugdealer
Summary: Set about two years after the events of the movie. Grindelwald escaped MCUSA custody. They couldn't hold him for long. He went after Newt, but why? Revenge or something worse? Newt has been captured and kept by Grindelwald for a year. What state will Tina find him in? How will they get through this? What happened during that year? Let's find out!





	1. Chapter 1

Tina was sitting at her desk in the MCUSA headquarters filling out paperwork. She stamped yet another paper in a seemingly endless pile and sighed. Since being reinstated as an auror, nearly two years ago now, she'd been neglecting her desk duties in favor of spending time in the field. She'd been on the same project for the last year, looking for _him_. Her searching took many forms though. Sometimes she was infiltrating groups of Grindelwald's supporters. Sometimes she was investigating magical smuggling operations. But her main goal was always finding him. So far, she'd had no success. They'd been able to gather no intelligence relating to Newt Scamander. It was as if he'd vanished off the face of the earth.

Tina realized she had completely zoned out and was holding the ring hanging on a chain around her neck. Newt had given it to her the very same day he'd . . . She shook her head and tried again to focus on the task at hand.

Three quick raps sounded from her office door.

"Come in!" she yelled. A flustered looking young intern entered. He was breathing heavily. He looked like he'd just run there.

"Yes, Eddie, what is it?" she asked, looking back down at her paperwork.

"Ms. Goldstein, they've found him mam!"

Tina's head snapped back up. "What?" She fixed Eddie with a piercing glare.

"Newt Scamander! They've found him!" he said.

Tina jumped up from her desk. Papers went flying. "Where the hell is he?!"

"They found him in some run down house upstate, not 20 miles from Ilvermorny mam, just this side of the Massachusetts border. Only a few supporters were there when they arrived and they were handled easily. But Mr. Scamander is not well. He's refusing to leave," the boy said.

"I'm coming too!" shouted Queenie as she rounded the corner, running much faster than she should have been able to in those heels.

"What? How -," Eddie said but Tina cut him off.

"Can you apparate us there?" she asked.

"Yes?" he said. He was unsure whether Queenie should be coming along.

"Do it!," Tina said urgently.

Suddenly they were standing in a forest. "This way. There's an enchantment around the building." Eddie led her through the trees and in just a few seconds the mansion appeared.

"Goldstein get in here! Kid absolutely lost it when he saw me. Understandable. Maybe you'll have better luck," said Graves as he emerged from the house.

"Where is he?" asked Tina.

"He's in the basement," Graves led Tina down the hall. "What's she doing here?" asked Graves, gesturing to Queenie.

"Another friendly face can't hurt," said Tina. She took Queenie's hand and pulled her into the house.

"Fine. Listen we may not have much time. Who knows when Grindelwald will be back and we need to have him out of here and a solid defense set up by then," Graves said.

Tina nodded and they began their descent down the creaky basement stairs. "Lumos," she whispered. She pointed her wand down in to the basement but Newt was nowhere to be seen. "Newt? It's me . . . Tina. Queenie's here too. Where are you?" she asked into the darkness.

"Stop it," she heard a small voice say from below her.

"Newt, are you underneath the stairs?" she asked. There was no reply.

"Is it okay if we come down there?" she asked. She figured it was polite to ask permission because people hiding underneath staircases in the dark usually wanted to be left alone.

Before Tina could round the stairs, Tina grabbed her wrist and whispered, "He thinks were imposters. He thinks we're here to hurt him."

Tina nodded in understanding. They reached the bottom of the staircase and rounded it. Newt was there in the farthest corner, with his knees pulled up to his chest and his hand held up to block the light from Tina's wand. Tina had been holding it together remarkably well but at the sight of the dark bruises on his face and neck, and the way he trembled as he tried to push himself farther back into the corner, she began to fall apart. He wore only a dirty button up shirt and light brown pants. He had no shoes or socks, nor anything else to keep him warm. In upstate New York in the winter time, _he must be freezing_ , Tina thought.

"The light is hurting his eyes," Queenie said. Tina lowered her wand to point it at the floor, away from Newt's face.

"I'm sorry," Tina said.

"Stop. This isn't going to work," said Newt.

"Newt, what do you mean -."

"You know what I mean!" Newt cut her off. "If you're going to taunt me, do it with your own face." He was clearly angry. He thought she was _him_.

"Newt, I swear . . . It's me . . . It's us," she insisted. "Ask . . . Ask me anything."

"I'm not playing your game," Newt ground out.

"Okay . . . You remember when Tina first snuck you and Jacob into our apartment? And you saw that I was a legilimens? The first thing you thought was, I wonder if she can do it with animals. I thought it was very charming but I never said anything about it," said Queenie. "See, how could anyone but me know that?" she asked sweetly.

Newt's breathing picked up. He was getting more nervous, _why?_

"Newt please, calm down. We're here to help, to get you out of here. Isn't that a good thing?" Tina asked.

Newt was becoming more and more agitated. He seemed to be having a panic attack.

"I can't," he gasped. "I can't leave." He was really struggling now. Queenie was the first to move forward. She could always tell just what people needed. Tina followed her. They knelt down on either side of Newt and took his hands.

There were tears streaming down his face. He was hyperventilating. Tina wasn't sure what else to do, so she leaned in and kissed him. Tina held the kiss for as long as she could. When she pulled away, Newt seemed to have calmed down a bit. Then he noticed the ring hanging from her neck. His trembling hand pried itself out of hers and gently grasped the ring.

"This was mine," he said.

"Yes. You gave it to me, remember?" Tina asked.

"Yes. I remember . . . It's you. It's . . . It's really you. Both of you," he said looking between Tina and Queenie.

"It's really us, and we need to get you out of here. Every auror MCUSA has is out there and a few on loan from the ministry! It's gonna be an ambush. We're taking him down for good this time. You need to be gone before he gets back," Tina said. Newt shook his head, more tears fell.

"No I can't. You don't understand. I . . . I can't leave," he said. His voice dripped with despair.

"I understand," Queenie said suddenly. Newt looked up at her as if begging her not to hate him. "It's okay. I understand," she said again. She squeezed his hand between bother of hers. "I think, it might be best if we all stay here. If the aurors take him in, or kill him," Queenie said, "then we can let him see you. Well use a sleeping spell. Make it look like we're taking you against your will."

"What?" Tina asked. _Why would we do that?_ They both ignored her.

"What if their plan doesn't work? What if he kills them all?!" Newt asked.

"If that happens . . . We will leave. We'll apparate back to MCUSA without you. He'll never know we were here," Queenie said.

"Like hell we will!" yelled Tina.

"Tina!" Queenie said, grabbing her sister's wrist again. Queenie's eyes widened pointedly at Tina as if to convey a message. " _Trust_ me," she said as she squeezed Tina's wrist. Tina shook her head a few times before reluctantly agreeing. Her sister could obviously see this from an angle she could not. Tina had no choice but to trust her.

"I'll go let Mr. Graves know," said Queenie. She stood and hurried up the stairs.

"Tina," Newt whispered in the silence. "I'm sorry. I can't leave . . . He can't think I've escaped, or-or- tried to escape. If he thought that . . . You don't know what he would do to me," he choked out. Still more tears fell. "I'm sorry," he said again. "I'm so sorry." He was clearly angry with himself. Tina could never be angry with him. She couldn't imagine what he'd been through, how Grindelwald had tormented him. She still loved him as much as ever.

She took his face in her hands, gently. The bruises were bad. She imagined there were probably many more under his clothes. She gently kissed each one and with each kiss she drew away some of his fear, self-loathing, and pain. His head leaned back against the wall and he closed his eyes. Her gentle affection was exactly what he needed. She smiled at him and leaned back onto her heels. Then she reached into her coat pocket and pulled out a canteen of water, much too big to have fit in there.

"Drink some of this," she commanded. He obeyed. He was too thirsty not to. While he was drinking she also pulled out a small blanket. She took the water back, once he'd had enough and then sat down against the same wall as him. She crossed her ankles in front of her. "Lay down and rest," she said, patting her lap. Again, Newt could do nothing but obey, he was so tired. He laid his head on her lap, his knees still pulled up to his chest, and she threw the blanket over him.

"Tina?" Newt said.

"Yes?" she replied.

"I need you to promise me something," he said.

"Anything," Tina said sincerely. Her fingers gently combed through his hair as they sat there.

"Don't leave me," he said. His voice cracked.

"I've been looking for you, all this time. Why would I leave you when I've finally found you?" she asked.

"You don't know . . .," his voice shook. "The things he's done to me. The things _I've_ done-," Tina cut him off.

"I don't care. I love you, Newt Scamander. I will _always_ love you. We can get through this," she assured him. He was quiet again.

Queenie came back down the stairs. "They're all set up. Mr. Graves gave us his okay to stay down here." Queenie sat in front of Newt with her legs folded underneath her. "He understood," she said to Newt, taking his hand and squeezing it. He nodded and squeezed hers back.

 _Queenie, do the bewitched sleep spell. Hurry. You know I can never make it work_ , Tina thought directly at her sister. Queenie nodded and pulled out her wand. She pointed it at Newt and uttered the words and Newt fell into a deep sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Tina and Queenie were sitting in the hallway of the hospital wing at MCUSA. Tina stared intently at the door in front of her as if she could see through it if she tried hard enough. Frustrated, she gave up and decided to go do something useful. The healers were working on Newt and she couldn't sit there any longer doing nothing. "I'm going to run to my office, just for a minute. Do you thing I should bring Picket back with me?"

 

"Oh, no Teenie I don't think that's a good idea." Queenie was hesitant to say more.

 

"What is it?" Tina asked skeptically.

 

"You should be hearing everything from him but I guess you need to know this . . . Newt thinks Grindelwald destroyed his case. He has no idea that we've been keeping it safe this whole time. Grindelwald had a pretty convincing look-a-like," Queenie said. "So, you see, if you showed up with Picket on your shoulder you might give the poor man a heart attack. You need to work up to that."

 

Tina fell back down into her chair. She looked like she'd had the wind knocked out of her. "You . . . You mean he thinks all his creatures are dead!?" she asked. "He must be devastated!" Queenie nodded sadly. "I . . . Just . . . What do I do? Okay . . . Like what . . . How do I . . . Wha-um . . . What do I do?" Tina nodded at her sister as she spoke like she was trying to convince herself she was making sense. Queenie feared she'd broken her sister, and Tina's thoughts weren't much more helpful than her words.

 

"I don’t know exactly. I didn't get all the details. Just some flashes. But . . . Springing it on him like that is probably not such a good idea?" Queenie said.

 

"I guess not?" Tina replied. They sat there for a moment longer, neither really knowing how to even begin to handle this situation.

 

"How about I go get him something to eat while you go to your office?" Queenie asked suddenly. Tina seemed to still be in shock but she spoke eventually.

 

"Sure," she said as she stood. She walked off seeming to be in a trance. Queenie shook her head and went off in the other direction.

 

When they both returned, they went to the nurse's area to ask about Newt's condition. Tina's head seemed to be clearer.

 

"You can go in and see him if you want, he may not be awake yet. We lifted the spell but he was real tired," the witch spoke with a thick Brooklyn accent.

 

Tina hurried off. Queenie made sure to stop and say thank you before chasing her sister. They got to Newt's room and opened the door to see nothing. The bed was empty. A short inspection however, turned up Newt, hiding behind the bed, in much the same position they'd found him in: backed up against the wall with his knees drawn up to his chest and his arms wrapped tightly around them. He was shivering. The only difference this time, he was wearing a clean white undershirt and comfortable looking pair of flannel pants.

 

"Newt, what are you doing down there?" asked Tina cautiously. She didn't want to frighten him.

 

"You woke up and you didn't know where you were, and you were alone," stated Queenie. Newt looked up and nodded silently.

 

"We're at MCUSA," said Tina. "With the healers. They were just in here," said Tina. "You wanna get back up on the bed?" she asked. Newt nodded again. "Need help?" Instead of nodding, Newt reached a hand out towards Tina. She hauled him up and helped him back onto the bed.

 

Now that Tina could see most of his arms, she could see that the bruises did in fact cover more of his body.

 

Once he was in the bed and leaned back against some pillows he asked, "what happened?"

 

"Went exactly as we planned it," Tina replied. Newt nodded.

 

"We brought you food. Peanut butter sandwich," Tina said, handing Newt the metal tray she'd brought from the canteen. Newt looked at the sandwich like it might grow wings and fly away but at their expectant faces, he began picking at it, trying to eat it. Once he'd taken a few bites, his appetite kicked in and he devoured the sandwich in less than a minute.

 

"Thank you," he said to Queenie with his mouth full.

 

Everyone's heads turned at a knock on the door.


	3. Chapter 3

Tina opened the door to see Eddie. He was holding some paper and pens. "Mr. Graves sent me to take Mr. Scamander's statement."

"Come in," Tina said.

"Mr. Scamander," Eddie nodded, stepping forward to shake Newt's hand. "I'm Eddie. I just have to say I've read your book more times than I can count. It's truly amazing." Newt blushed.

"Thank you. I . . . Um . . . Didn't realize anyone had read my book," he said. He looked at Tina questioningly.

"Oh, yes sir. It's become required reading at most schools. And there's no question why. Most of it is entirely novel information," the boy gushed. Newt was stunned. It seemed like a lifetime ago he'd even written the thing. It had been published for less than a month before he disappeared. He certainly never expected people to actually read it. He realized he'd been silent for too long when Tina cleared her throat.

"Eddie aren't you here for a reason?" she asked.

"Oh right!" Eddie jumped to attention. "I brought some paper and pens. Mr. Graves just needs a short statement from you. More detail can be taken later, when you're up to it, this is just a placeholder for the file," he explained.

Newt accepted the items and hastily scribbled down a couple sentences. Then he signed his name and handed the papers back to Eddie. "Is that enough?" he asked. He was not ready to delve into the events of the past year with anyone, not even himself, but he also didn't want the boy to get in trouble.

"Yes sir. Thank you," Eddie said.

"Do you know if they found my wand? Grindelwald usually kept it with him," Newt said.

"I believe so sir. I'll ask about it. It's a pleasure to meet you sir," Eddie shook Newt's hand again and left.

Queenie got up to follow him out. "I need to go see Jacob. Maybe I can sneak him in later Newt? If you're feeling up to it," she said.

"Yes that would be lovely Queenie. Thank you for the food," Newt replied. He fell back against his pillows once the door closed. He was so tired.

"You need to rest," said Tina. She sat on the edge of the bed. "I should let you sleep."

"No!" Newt said, grabbing her hand before she could stand up. "Stay . . . Please."

"Okay," she feigned reluctance. "But no funny business. I have a lot of paperwork to catch up on," she warned him. Tina opened her briefcase and a three foot tall stack of papers emerged.

Newt was about to fall asleep when the door opened once more. An older gentleman stepped in. He was clearly one of the more experienced healers. "Mr. Scamander. It's good to see you awake! I'm just here to check on you. We've had a chance to look you over and your physical injuries seem to be healing well. We did administer a potion to help speed up the process some. We'd like for you to at least stay the night so that we can make sure everything is okay," the healer said. "Is there anything in particular that is bothering you or anything I can do for you?" As he spoke, he conjured a pitcher of water and two glasses and sat them on the bedside table.

"No. I'm just quite exhausted is all. Think I just need some sleep," Newt said. The healer nodded.

"Well some of the assistant healers are always nearby if you change your mind or if anything comes up. Just let us know if you need anything at all Mr. Scamander. I'll let you rest," said the healer.

"Thank you," said Newt. The healer nodded and ducked out of the room quietly.

Newt laid down and watched Tina scribble and stamp papers until his eyelids drifted shut.

_Flashes of light! Pain! Screaming, begging, crying, pleading. Stop. Please no please no. Don't make me do this! Stop! Stop! STOP! His body moved forward on its own. He had no control, not an ounce. He kicked and hit and stomped and twisted until he heard the crack of bones break and the screams but he couldn't stop. He strained so hard but he was powerless against the imperius curse. He continued to follow its command until his victim lay dead below him._

Newt woke with a scream. Tina nearly threw the papers she'd been working on across the room. Newt scrambled off the bed and fell to the floor. She was startled for only a second before she moved towards him, trying to help. He was too lost in his fear to realize who she was so he pushed himself away. He was covered in a cold sweat and shivering, breathing hard like he'd just run a marathon.

"Newt, hey, just breathe okay. It's me, Tina. Remember?" she asked. She was asking that a lot lately. Before she could get him calmed down though, a couple of healers burst in to the room. Newt flinched at the sound of the door banging open.

"What happened?" the man asked Tina.

"I'm not sure. I think he had a dream," she said hastily. The other healer went to the cabinet in the corner and she retrieved a bottle of some milky white potion Tina could not identify.

They began to approach Newt. "No, don't go near him. He's just confused. Please you'll only scare him!" Tina said frantically.

They ignored her. "Mr. Scamander, it's okay. We're not here to hurt you. We just need you to calm down. I have something here to help," the woman said. They didn't really wait for an answer. Once they reached Newt, the man reached for his arms. Newt didn't react well to that, choosing instead to fight back. A year of captivity, malnutrition, injuries, and confusion all caused his attempt to be rather unimpressive. The man successfully held Newt down while the woman pried open his mouth and placed a few drops of the potion on his tongue.

"What was that?! What did you give him?!" asked Tina.

"Draught of peace mam. We expected something like this to happen," one of them said. Newt's struggles had gradually decreased until finally he relaxed. His head fell back against the wall and his eyes drifted shut. "Let's get you back to bed." The healers lifted Newt up and helped him back onto the bed. "The head healer said he may need more of this but not more than twice a day," they said to Tina. "We'll leave it here. Call if you need us."

Now that Newt had calmed down, he was curled up on his side in the bed. He was still trembling a little and some tears had fallen from his eyes. Tina wasn't sure how to help but she crawled onto the bed anyways. She laid down behind Newt and pulled him back against her. She stayed there holding him until he fell back to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Newt slept peacefully for a few hours. The potion he'd been given helped for a while. When it wore off however, his sleep became restless once more. He would dream and wake up in a panic. Tina would calm him down enough for him to fall asleep again and the cycle would continue. When morning came he was only too grateful. He didn't feel very rested but at least he had another excuse to get up rather than just avoiding the dreams. Tina was already up. She'd brought him some clothes and breakfast had been delivered by the healers.

 

Newt got up and changed then sat down and pretended to try to eat the food. He'd been in constant danger for the last year and he supposed now that the danger was less immediate, the trauma was finally catching up to him. The appetite that had begun returning to him yesterday was now completely gone again.

 

"Do you . . . " Tina hesitated. "Do you want to talk about it? The dreams or . . . anything?" she asked. Newt shook his head.

 

"Not yet anyways. Maybe one day," he said.

 

The older healer who'd come to see him the day before came in again that morning. He looked Newt over and declared him healthy enough to go home. He gave Newt a bottle of the draught of peace to take with him and Newt reluctantly accepted it.

 

"I've asked for a few days off. Queenie has too. We've been saving our vacation days," Tina said taking Newt's hand to guide him out of the room. Newt nodded and followed her. He held onto her hand as gently as ever but still in a way that seemed to Tina like he never wanted to let go.

 

"Do you think I have any chance of getting my wand back before we leave?" he asked. He was feeling too vulnerable without it. Most people would find it silly for him to feel so unsafe in a building full of the world's finest aurors but he'd experienced just what sort of madness could occur in such a building.

 

"Let's go by my office and see what we can do. I need to pick up a few things anyways," she said.

 

They reached her department and Eddie came around the corner nearly running headfirst into Tina. "Ms. Goldstein! Mr. Scamander! I was just coming to see you," he pulled Newt's wand from his inner pocket. "I just got the okay from Mr. Graves," he said, presenting the wand to Newt.

 

Newt accepted the wand silently but he looked like he could start crying again any second. "Thank you Eddie. I need to get some things from my office but is Mr. Graves around? I was hoping to speak with him before we left," Tina said.

 

"No ma'am. He's just gone to conduct the . . . interrogation." Eddie was clearly unsure what they should talk about in front of Newt. 

 

"Okay. Well thank you again. I'm sure we'll be back later this week," she said. She pulled Newt towards her office and pushed him inside, then locked the door.

 

"Okay here sit down." She pushed him into the chair in front of her desk. "I need to show you something and it's probably going to be a . . . Shock?" Tina started pacing. "It's . . . I . . . Please, don't freak out." Newt nodded. "No I mean it. This is a good thing but it's okay to feel whatever you feel when you see it okay? You can be happy or sad or angry, just remember to breathe and not freak out."

 

"Okay?" Newt said. He was a little apprehensive now. What in the world was she going to show him?

 

"I know you think that your case is gone but . . . " She slid Newt's case out from behind her desk. "I've been keeping it safe this whole time."

 

Newt's jaw dropped open. That was quite a shock. "Is . . . Is that my . . . Are they in there?" he asked in awe.

 

"Yeah. Everyone is here. Safe and sound," Tina assured him. "I wanted to give it to you straight away but Queenie warned me not to. I'm sorry. I should've done it anyways. I just wasn't sure how," Tina began to ramble out of nervousness. Newt wasn't saying anything and she couldn't read his expression so she just kept going. Eventually he interrupted her.

 

"Can we go in?" he asked.

 

"Yes! Yes of course we can. Are you sure you're up to it though?" she asked.

 

Newt just nodded again.

 

"Okay," she said. She took out her wand and unlocked the padlock she had chained around the case. Newt knelt down in front of it. He let his hands wander over the top and down the sides, reveling in this piece of hope he'd been given. Then he pressed the buttons on either side to undo the latches. The smile on his face brightened the whole room. Tina knew she'd made the right decision giving this to him now. Together they descended into the case.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Excuse my blatant plagiarism of BBC Sherlock. Those lines were just so beautiful and perfect, I couldn't help myself.

Newt felt at home for the first time in a year. All of his creatures were so happy to see him. He thought Picket might choke him to death if he continued to hold on to his neck that tightly. The niffler presented Newt with all his favorite shiny things but was immensely relieved when Newt turned them all down. Before they knew it they had spent half the day inside the case.

 

Newt was getting tired but he wanted to stay so badly. Tina had the perfect excuse for dragging him away when they heard the echo of a knock on her office door. They emerged and locked up the case, then hid it safely behind Tina's desk.

 

Tina answered the door and it swung open to reveal Seraphina Picquery and Percival Graves as well as three other aurors. They entered without preamble accompanied only by their grim faces.

 

"Madam president. Mr. Graves," Tina nodded. "What's going on?" she asked.

 

"We've just finished up the interrogation." Graves gave Newt a meaningful look which Tina missed.

 

"Did he talk?!" she asked. She really hadn't expected him to say much of anything useful.

 

"Wouldn't stop," said Graves bitterly.

 

"We need to talk, Mr. Scamander," Picquery said to Newt. Tina looked to him. When had he moved behind her desk? 

 

"You need him to give his full statement?" asked Tina. "Can it wait until tomorrow? They've only just released him from the hospital. He needs to rest." Newt was looking fairly uncomfortable, like a cornered animal. Picquery handed Tina a folder and Newt couldn't be silent any longer.

 

"No! Tina please, if you love me, please don't read that," he begged her. Tina swallowed.

 

"Why not?" she asked, her heart sinking.

 

"Because . . . You won't love me when you've finished," he admitted.

 

"So it's true then?" asked Picquery. Newt hung his head.

 

"I don't know what he's told you. But I can't think of a reason why he'd lie," Newt said. All that happiness and hope Tina had seen just a few hours ago was slowly draining away. Tina had no idea what was happening but she just wanted to protect him.

 

Picquery nodded to the aurors and they started towards him which pushed Newt farther towards the back of Tina's office. He put his hand up. "Wait! I'll go quietly just please . . . Don't . . . " Newt was searching for the right words. "If you put me in . . . Restraints . . . I won't be much use to you. Please. I won't fight." He looked pleadingly at President Picquery, then Graves. They in turn looked at each other and then Picquery answered.

 

"Let's go then Mr. Scamander."

 

"No! He's been a prisoner for a year. You are not going to keep him here to cater to the ramblings of a mad man. He's coming home," she proclaimed.

 

"Tina," Newt said, coming back around the desk and taking her hand. "It's okay. It's okay." He sounded more like he was trying to convince himself than her. He stared at her face like he was trying to remember every detail. Then he kissed her like it might be his last chance. When he pulled back, he reached inside his coat and removed his wand. "Keep this safe for me," he said, handing it to her.

 

He turned to the president and nodded. She and Graves moved out of the way and let him pass, the five of them created a circle around him and walked him out of the office and towards the nearest interrogation room.

 

Tina stood in her office alone and in shock. She was still holding the folder that President Picquery had handed her. Now she saw no other way to understand what was happening than to read its contents. When she finished, she fell to the floor and wept.

 

Newt, who had been experiencing a constant undercurrent of guilt, finally felt the weight begin to lift some. He would give his full statement, confess everything that had happened in the last year, and trust the law to do its job: punish him in accordance with his guilt. If they decided he was guilty, he would agree and accept his sentence. If they decided he had done no wrong, he would take that also. Or, he would try.

 

The aurors marched him into the room and he sat him down at one of the two chairs at the small table. The room looked exactly the same as the interrogation room he'd been brought to last time. In fact, it may have been the same room. Newt was beginning to feel sick. He sincerely hoped this visit didn't end the same way as his last. He leaned forward, placed his forehead on the cool table and tried to take deep breaths in and out.

 

"Newt . . . " Newt looked up. "You sure you can do this?" asked Graves. He had some idea of what it was like to be Grindelwald's captive. Of course, his captivity had been much shorter and he was unconscious in a match box for most of it.

 

"What are my other options?" Newt asked. Graves winced.

 

"Waiting in the cells. We could put you far enough from Grindelwald that you wouldn't even be able to see him but you'd still be sharing the floor with about twenty dementors. We're borrowing them to help with security."

 

Newt looked panicked. "What about after? If I tell you everything, you'll still have to put me down there!"

 

"Hey calm down." Graves came around the table. He gently pressed his hand to the back of Newt's neck, guiding his forehead back to the table, where it had been before. "Take deep breaths. You're getting ahead of yourself. Just focus on your breathing," Graves commanded. Newt would have expected to become more agitated by this. Instead, he felt some of the tension drain from his neck and shoulders. Graves' thumb rubbed up and down on Newt's neck. "Better?" Graves asked. Newt nodded his head against the table. Graves removed his hand and returned to his own seat.

 

"Sit up." Newt slowly lifted his head. "Now, I need you to tell me everything that has happened in the last year. If you can do that, I promise I will make sure that other arrangements are made for you. I won't let anyone send you down there. Okay?" Newt nodded again, not breaking eye contact like he usually would. Graves set out a stack of paper and a self-writing pen which stood up and began scribbling notes as soon as Graves began to speak. "Good. Let's begin with the allegations against you," Graves said. This was when Newt looked away.

 

Graves took out a folder and began laying out photographs on the table. "These are fifteen no-majs that have gone missing or were found dead in the last year. Grindelwald claims that you were responsible for their deaths," Graves stated. "Have you ever seen these people before?" asked Graves.

 

Newt's eyes were drawn back to the table. He looked at each picture carefully. Starting on the top row and working his way from left to right. "Yes," he answered when he had a chance to look at them all.

 

"Did you kill them?" asked Graves.

 

Newt took a few breaths before replying. "Yes, I did." Graves nodded.

 

"According to our research, Mr. Isaac Boone was the first to go missing." Graves took one picture from the group and moved it directly in front of Newt.

 

"Tell me what happened," Graves said.


	6. Chapter 6

Newt started at the beginning. "When he first took me, the very first thing he did was destroy my case, right in front of me . . . He must have thought I would have no reason to escape if my creatures were gone. Then I was chained up in the basement for . . . Well, I don't really know how long it was. I suppose it was two or three weeks? They brought me only a cup of water and sometimes a piece of bread each day. When they finally let me out, I thought he was going to kill me, make a show of it for his followers. I wished he had. I was _nearly_ dead when they finished."

 

"What did they do?" asked Graves.

 

"Sometimes they would use the cruciatus curse but I think they wanted to injure me, keep me from fighting back or trying to get away, so mostly beatings," said Newt.

 

"How long did this go on?" Graves asked.

 

"Don't know," Newt shrugged. He was struggling to relay the information without letting the memories take over. "Every day for a week? Two? It's hard to say."

 

"What happened next?"

 

"I didn't realize it at the time but there was always a purpose to everything he did. He wanted me broken. He wanted to use me. One day they took me outside and there was a hippogriff. He was all chained up. Sort of like me," Newt laughed bitterly. "He wanted me to get it under control so that he could use it. They can take you farther than you could go just by apparating and they offer more protection than a broom, you see," Newt explained.

 

"And you said . . . " Graves prompted Newt.

 

"No, of course," he answered. "That made him quite angry. They chained me up to the ceiling that night. Couldn't even touch the floor. But that wasn't the punishment. Just the prelude. Next day they brought me out and there was this muggle," Newt pointed to the picture of Isaac Boone. His voice shook. "I don't know why but Grindelwald wanted him dead and he wanted it to hur-" Newt's voice broke on the last word. One tear fell down his cheek. He was finding it more and more difficult to stay detached from the events he was describing. "He didn't like getting his hands dirty though. So he made me do it." Newt put his face in his hands.

 

"How?" asked Graves. He was sure he knew, but he needed to have it on record.

 

"Imperius curse," was Newt's muffled answer.

 

"Were all of these people killed by yourself, under the imperius curse?" asked Graves. He was hoping to spare Newt having to relive each of their deaths. And, that would make this a much more clear cut case.

 

"No," Newt said. He was shaking with sobs. Graves was dismayed to say the least.

 

"Okay. Newt, you're doing well." Graves got up and came to Newt's side of the table again. "I'm sorry we have to do this." He stood behind Newt's chair, like he had before, and squeezed his shoulders. "I know this is difficult." Newt brought his hands down and wrapped them around his stomach. He was still crying but he was able to nod. "I want you to sort the pictures out. Put them on the left if you were under the imperius curse. Put them on the right if you were not. Can you do that?" he asked. Newt nodded again. His hands shook ask he moved the pictures around. When he was finished, four of the pictures were on the right and the rest were on the left. "Good," Graves praised him, with another squeeze to Newt's shoulders. "You need a break?" he asked.

 

" _Please_ ," Newt choked out in surprise.

 

"Want me to get Goldstein?"

 

"If she'll come," Newt said. He looked quite defeated sitting there.

  
"I'm sure she will."


	7. Chapter 7

Graves was gone only a moment before Tina came bursting in. "Newt!" she yelled. She was crying but that didn't stop her from pulling Newt up from his chair and into her arms. "Are you okay?!" she asked as she frantically patted him down like a concerned mother, searching him for injuries.

 

"I'm fine," he said out of habit. His red eyes and trembling hands told her otherwise.

 

"Really?" she asked.

 

Newt took a moment. "No?" he answered tentatively. "I'm better, now that you're here," he assured her. He pulled her back into the hug, his arms wrapped around her waist, and hers around his neck. He closed his eyes and tried to relax a little. Newt realized she must have been close by in order to have gotten there so quickly. "Were you waiting outside?" he asked her.

 

"Yes," she admitted.

 

"You read the transcript of Grindelwald's interrogation?" He continued to hold her, afraid to see her face while they spoke about this.

 

"I did . . .Newt, I don't really understand everything that you're going through. I couldn't possibly . . . But I'm going to be here for you, no matter what. I know what's in your heart." She pulled back and placed her hand over his chest. "If you don't want me to know exactly what happened, then I don't need to know. I trust that you did the best you could. I love you."

 

Newt looked into Tina's eyes. He could see how much she loved him, how she trusted him, reflected back at him. He didn't know what he'd done to deserve her, but it damn sure wasn't enough. Her love gave him the strength he needed to continue. "And I love you," he replied.

 

Graves chose that moment to re-enter, with a cup of coffee for himself and a glass of water for Newt. "Right. Okay. You can do this," Tina said, using her thumbs to wipe the tears from his face.

 

"I can do this," Newt repeated with a nod. Tina's confidence gave him confidence. Her strength gave him strength. Had he known people could do that, he would have tried to find her much earlier in life. She gave him a quick peck on the lips and then left. Newt sat back down.

 

Graves tried to discreetly pull a small paper bag out of his pocket. "Uh-hm," he cleared his throat. "The _other_ Ms. Goldstein asked that I give you this," he said.

 

"Asked?" Newt said, amused.

 

"Well, no, not _exactly_. She threatened to call my _nana_ if I refused," Graves said. "I'm sure I don't want to know how she could know about my nana," he added.

 

"No, I'm sure you don't," Newt replied. He opened the bag to find a cinnamon roll resembling a curled up occamy. He was delighted. He broke it in half and offered some to Graves. He wouldn't be able to eat it all and he'd hate to waste any of it, especially when he hadn't seen anything so delicious in over a year.

 

"Why not," Graves said, accepting the pastry.

 

When they had both finished their food, Graves asked, "Shall we continue?" Newt nodded.

 

"Explain to me how we got from _here_ ," Graves said as he gestured to the pictures on Newt's left, "to _here_." He pointed to the pictures on the right.

 

"After the first time, I agreed to do whatever Grindelwald wanted. I trained the hippogriff, and countless other creatures. The others here," Newt said, pointing to the imperius pile, "were punishments."

 

"For what," asked Graves. "You were complying with his demands, correct?"

 

"I was . . . I was _trying_ to anyways. I was under a great amount of stress. I was injured quite badly though. Sometimes I made mistakes, for which I had to pay, according to him. Sometimes they didn't listen to me and one of his followers would get hurt trying to force a beast into submission, for which I was also to blame." Newt picked up the imperius stack and cycled through the photographs. "That accounts for these," he said, laying out all but one of the pictures.

 

"And this one?" asked Graves, taking the last photo from Newt and holding it up.

 

Newt swallowed. "That was _meant_ to be a reward. He said I'd done well, gave me a choice. I could either be forced to torture and kill this man, like the others, under the imperius curse, or, I would be allowed to use magic to kill him quickly."

 

"This man was going to die either way?" Graves asked.

 

"Yes, I suppose he was," Newt said. "I chose to use my wand, kill him instantly. But when they gave me my wand, I foolishly thought I would be able to escape." Newt shook his head bitterly.

 

"You tried?"

 

"Yes, and I failed spectacularly. There was no chance really. I was surrounded and even if it was just the two of us, I could never hope to beat him in a _real_ duel, one-on-one."

 

"What happened?"

 

"When I was caught, he tortured me."

 

"The same as before?" Graves asked.

 

"No, this time he used the cruciatus curse exclusively," Newt shuddered.

 

"How long?"

 

"Felt like years but . . . It must have been only two or three days? It was hard to keep track of time. I thought I would go mad. He made me beg for the chance to serve him again," Newt spat. "It makes me sick to think of it now, but at the time, I think I would have done just about anything to make it stop." Newt hung his head in shame.

 

"Newt, listen to me. You were incredibly strong to have lasted as long as you did. People have lost their minds over far less," Graves assured him. Newt seemed to disagree but did so silently, fixing his eyes on the floor.

 

"The next time he offered me the choice, it was this woman," Newt said. He pointed to the photo of a woman in the pile on the right. "I knew I had no chance of escaping, and I thought, it would be worth having her blood on my hands if I could keep her from the pain the others had experienced." Newt looked up at Graves then as if daring him to disagree. He didn't, so Newt continued. "The rest were the same. He gave me the choice and I chose to kill them."

 

"No, Mr. Scamander," the wall, to Newt's left disappeared and out walked president Picquery. "I believe now, that you chose how they died, but not that they died. There is a difference."

 

"How can you say that? If I had been stronger . . . Better at the things he asked of me - or if I hadn't allowed myself to be captured in the first place, these people would have never been there either. They only died because _I_ wasn't good enough!" Newt insisted.

 

"Mr. Scamander, each of these no-majs was a member of the Second Salem Church, or a faction of it. Grindelwald wanted them all dead. He was planning to kill them _anyways_. You happened to be there and so he used you to do it, because he thought it would help him break you. Do you realize that this no-maj, the very first one, Isaac Boone, went missing _before_ you did?" asked Picquery. Newt shook his head slowly, processing the information.

 

"Really?" asked Newt. "Are you sure?"

 

"Newt, Grindelwald was planning to torture and kill all of these people. You saved four of them from a slow and painful death," Graves said adamantly. Newt was silent.

 

Picquery placed her hand on Newt's shoulder. "Of course, this will all have to be reviewed by a committee but I have a feeling they'll find you free of any guilt here. You should go home and get some rest," She left and Graves began packing up all the photos and transcripts into a file.

 

Tina burst in again. Graves was beginning to suspect she'd forgotten any other way to enter a room. "Ms. Golstein, take him home will you. He's had a long day. And _please,_ make sure your sister knows that he got to eat." Graves clapped Newt on the shoulder on his way out.


	8. Chapter 8

Tina and Newt took some time in the interrogation room to just hold each other. Newt clung to Tina like a drowning man would to a life raft. He almost couldn't believe this turn of events. Those fifteen deaths he had believed were his fault, were not! Newt had been weighed down by his guilt for so long that the sudden absence of it made him feel like he could fly.

 

Tina returned Newt's wand to him and the two finally emerged from the interrogation room hand in hand. They retrieved Newt's case from Tina's office and enchanted it to become small enough to fit in his pocket. They didn't want to attract any unnecessary attention. It was already dark out and Newt could hardly believe it had only been one day since he was found.

 

To their great surprise, Queenie and Jacob met them outside. Queenie squealed when she saw them and wrapped them both in a hug. When she released them, Jacob reached out to shake Newts hand.

 

"You have no idea how good it is to see you buddy," Jacob said to Newt.

 

"I think I might," Newt replied. They looked at each other seriously for a moment before Jacob pulled Newt into a hug and they both burst into laughter.

 

"You're too skinny," Jacob said as they let go. "Ya need some food. Lucky for you, I know just the place," he said with a wink.

 

The four of them headed to Jacob's bakery which he had already closed for the night. He let them in the back door and they all sat in the kitchen and enjoyed some dinner.

 

"So!" Queenie said as they were eating. "We have an announcement to make!" She thrust her left hand out so that Tina and Newt could see the beautiful ring adorning her finger. "We're getting married!" Tina jumped up and ran around the table so that she could hug her sister. The men stayed seated and Newt whispered conspiratorially to Jacob, "isn't that still illegal?"

 

"Oh yeah," Jacob whispered back, like he'd forgotten that tiny detail. But then his grin gave him away and he pulled four train tickets out of his breast pocket. "That's why we're all going to Canada!" he announced. They all laughed.

 

"Well I believe congratulations are in order," Newt said, reaching over the table to shake Jacob's hand again. The girls sat back down, still gushing over the news. "When do we leave?"

 

"Tomorrow morning," Jacob said. "So eat up, and get some sleep!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are my favorite thing and I love all of you who have read, commented, subscribed, or bookmarked this story. You da real MVPs!


	9. Chapter 9

Tina made Newt a sleeping draught that night. It didn't take much convincing to get him to drink it. When he woke in the morning he felt refreshed for the first time in what seemed like forever. Tina was curled up into his side with her head resting on his chest. It was so warm and peaceful that he immediately fell back asleep. Then the alarm clock rang. Newt did not budge. Tina rolled over and hit the button. Then, noticing how adorable Newt was when he was sleeping, she almost couldn't wake him.

 

She sat and watched him for a few minutes, but she realized they were going to be late if they didn't get going. She leaned over him, with her hands on either side of his head, and placed her lips on his. She was only there for a moment but when she pulled away, his lips rose to meet her. "Mmm," Newt groaned in disappointment when she finally did pull away. He fell back to his pillow and watched Tina get ready with a smile on his face.

 

"Come on you. Get up. We're gonna be late," Tina said.

 

"Nooo," Newt whined. "Come back to bed." His body felt too heavy to move. Tina laughed at him.

 

"Newt, you know we need to get everyone fed before we get on the train," she said. That still felt quite surreal to him. He had a whole case full of creatures to take care of that he had believed were gone for a whole year. He was happy to have them all back but he would have to get use to the routine again.

 

"Right," he said when finally rolled himself out of the bed. "Don’t suppose you'd like to help? They're rather fond of you now, since you've been caring for them. They may riot if all they get is boring old dad."

 

"Don't be silly. They were happier than I've ever seen them yesterday. But, of course, I would love to join you. You get started. I'll get us some breakfast," Tina assured him.

 

Once everything was done, they packed Tina's suitcase inside of Newt's and headed for the station. Jacob and Queenie met them there and they all boarded together. The four of them shared a cabin. They departed at 8 AM and spent the whole day watching the beautiful scenery as they traveled up through New York and then along the border between New York and Vermont. They passed the beautiful Green Mountains and rode along the shores of Lake Champlain until they reached Montreal at approximately 7 PM.

 

They took a taxi to a nice little bed and breakfast operated by an old couple who'd been serving witches and wizards for decades. The B&B even had an officiant on call for these particular situations, about which the old woman said, "It's unfortunate for you Americans but damn good for business." When they settled down to sleep before the big day, Tina offered Newt some more of the sleeping draught, that she'd thankfully had the foresight to pack.

 

Newt looked at it with loathing. "Do you think I'll have to do this forever?" Newt asked her.

 

"No, of course not! Do you want to try to sleep without it tonight?" Tina asked. She didn't want him to be dependent on the potion forever.

 

"No, I wouldn't want to ruin the evening," he replied before tossing the potion back.

 

"I wouldn't mind you know. We'll have to deal with this eventually. I just thought . . . you deserve at least a few nights of rest," Tina said, sitting down on the bed next to him and taking his hand.

 

"I know, just not tonight. You might not mind but I think everyone else in the house might," Newt joked. They gave each other a quick kiss and laid down to sleep. "I love you," Newt whispered in Tina's ear, just before falling asleep.

 

"I love you too," Tina whispered back, content to be wrapped in his arms.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay guys. Enjoy!

The wedding ceremony was short and simple but beautiful nonetheless. The happy couple decided to stay at the B&B for a few extra days as their honeymoon. Newt and Tina stayed one more night but headed back to New York the next morning.

 

Unfortunately their return trip was a little more eventful than the first. Newt started to notice the feeling when they boarded the train. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. He felt like he was being watched. He brushed it off and tried to relax as they took their seats. He managed to forget about it for a few hours. He watched the scenery roll by with Tina. They had lunch and they simply enjoyed each other's company.

 

As the afternoon began though, that uneasiness returned. Newt was nervous but he didn't know why. He left the compartment to use the bathroom and he could have sworn he kept catching glimpses of white spiky hair out of the corner of his eye.

 

Tina could see that something was wrong but the last straw was Newt nearly jumping out of his skin when the attendant knocked on the door to inform them that they would be arriving soon.

 

Newt was hunched over with his elbows on his knees and the heels of his hands pressed into his eyes. Tina sat down across from him and considered what she should do. Finally she pulled out a pen and a notebook from her bag and she opened it up to the first page. She scribbled something down and then closed it and put it back in her bag.

 

In New York City, Percival Graves felt his breast pocket heating up. He pulled out the small notebook he carried there. The first page read:

 

**Need help. Just you. Train station at 7 PM. Bring a car.**

 

_Great_ , he thought. _What have they gotten into now?_

 

Newt did not look up from his position so Tina asked, "Newt, what's going on?"

 

He shook his head, hands still pressed over his eyes. "I don't know," he replied.

 

"How can I help?" she asked, desperate to do something, anything really.

 

Newt shook his head again. "I don't know . . . I'm sorry," he said, his voice shaking slightly.

 

"Don't apologize. It's okay," she assured him. She reached out to place her hand on the side of his knee, to comfort him. Instead, he pulled away.

 

"I'm sorry," he said again when he looked up and saw the hurt on her face. "I-I don't know w-what's wron-wrong with me. Just, um, everything feels wr-ong and I can't really explain. I'm so-s-sorry," he said through tears.

 

"Newt, stop apologizing. You haven't done anything wrong. Just breathe for me okay. It's going to be alright. Graves is gonna meet us at the station. We'll figure it out okay?" said Tina. "It's just a few more minutes. And don't worry. We've developed a pass phrase system that only the two of us know about. I'll ask him if he's going to the symphony tonight. He'll respond by saying that he's going to see something on Broadway. The play should begin with whatever day of the week it is. So he'll pick something that starts with a W because it's Wednesday. Or, more often he just makes something up. The man has seen surprisingly little theater." Tina was just trying to distract Newt from the situation at hand. She thought maybe if she could get him thinking of something else, it might calm him down a little. So far it wasn't really working. She sighed. Time for a new strategy.

 

"Okay Newt you have to breathe. Just follow me okay? Breathe in and count to four, then out and count to five. Here we go," she instructed him. "In, 2, 3, 4, out, 2, 3, 4, 5, in, 2, 3, 4, out, 2, 3, 4, 5. That's great. You're doing great. Keep going. I'm just going to get our luggage down and make it small enough for your pocket." She did as she'd said and not a minute later, the train slowly ground to a stop.

 

"Okay. I think we can be the first ones out of here if we hurry. Come on," she said. Newt stood and allowed her to help him into his coat. She rushed him out of the compartment and into the hall, then down to the end of the car. Graves was waiting for them on the platform.


	11. Chapter 11

Mr. Graves ushered Newt and Tina out of the station to a car waiting on the street. "Mr. Graves are you going to the symphony tonight?" Tina asked before she would let Newt get in the car.

 

"No. I'm seeing a play!" he whispered back aggressively. Newt, not really paying attention as much as he would be normally, thought that response was good enough and began climbing in.

 

"What play?" Tina growled, even more aggressively.

 

"It's called 'Will You Please Shut Up and Get in the Car'," he said. Tina and Newt got in and then Tina reached up and smacked Graves with her gloves that she had just removed.

 

"The passphrase was your idea. If we don't use it all the time then it's useless," Tina insisted. Newt was leaned forward again with his elbows on his knees and his hands pulling at the hair on the back of his head. Tina's focus moved back to him as soon as the car started moving.

 

"Oh, Newt honey please, you're hurting yourself," Tina said. She was trying not to touch him too much because he'd asked her not to but she felt the need to pry his hands away from his hair. "Here, we're just going to move these down here," she said as she placed his hands on the leather seat by his sides. She pushed him forward so that his head could lean against the seat in front of him. "Okay, we're going to breathe just like we did on the train," Tina said and she began counting. By the time they reached Tina's apartment Newt was coming down some. Graves and Tina got him upstairs unnoticed with the help of a little magic.

 

Tina quickly placed a few drops of the draught of peace, that she'd foolishly left behind, into a small glass of water. She brought it to Newt who was sitting hunched over on the couch. "Here, drink," she said. He took it without question. In just a few minutes he was as calm as a cucumber and pliant as a ragdoll. So much so that Tina needed Graves' help getting him to bed.

 

When they were done, Graves fell back onto the couch with a huff. "Jesus, has that been happening often?" he asked Tina.

 

"No, and probably not as much as it should be. Percival it's only been three days," Tina said.

 

"You're right, you're right," Graves conceded. "He's pretty damn put together for a kid who just spent a year getting tortured by a psychopath."

 

"I have no idea what I'm doing. This wasn't part of our training!" Tina said exasperated as she moved the kettle away from the hot burner.

 

"Well you seem to be doing just fine. You handled it well," said Graves.

 

"Only because you came when I asked," Tina grumbled. "Thank you. I'm not sure what I would have done if you weren't there."

 

Graves grunted in acknowledgement. Tina handed him a cup of tea. "What set him off anyways?" he asked.

 

"I don't know," she admitted. "Before it was only the dreams but this time it happened in the middle of the day. Oh god!" Tina exclaimed, pinching the bridge of her nose.

 

"What?" asked Graves.

 

"That stuff only lasts for four hours at most. I can't give him a sleeping draught on top of it can I?" Tina asked.

 

"I don't know. Why? What's wrong?"

 

"When it wears off he's going to start dreaming again. Sometimes he doesn't even know who I am when he wakes up like that," Tina said.

 

"And no one is here to help you," Graves sighed. He thought about it for a moment. "Dammit. Alright, I'll stay. I'll sleep on the couch. This is the only time this is happening Goldstein. You got it?"

 

"Yes, thank you," she breathed a sigh of relief. "And you don't have to sleep on the couch. You can use Queenie's bed."


	12. Chapter 12

_Newt's body was moving without his permission again. His victim was face down on the floor and he was kicking her. He kicked, and kicked, and kicked until Grindelwald was satisfied. Then he knelt down, pressing his knee into the small of her back, and wrenched her arm around behind her until he heard a loud pop and a scream. He tried to close his eye and block out at least some of the experience. Grindelwald did not like that. "Crucio," he snarled. Suddenly Newt was filled with immense pain. He fell over and landed beside the woman on the floor. Only now he could see her face, Tina's face._

 

Newt woke with a scream. Graves who had only been dozing lightly, got up quickly and flicked on the light. The first thing Newt could see was Tina hovering next to him and Graves looming behind her. She tried to reach for him, to comfort him but he was still too lost in his dream world. He scrambled off the bed and put his back to the door. "NO! NO! PLEASE!" he screamed. Graves woke up but didn't move. Newt's eyes were still locked on Tina.

 

"New-," Tina started towards him.

  
"STAY BACK!" Newt screamed again. Graves silently made a few steps towards Newt while he was focused on Tina, but Newt's eyes were drawn to the movement. Newt lunged at Graves.

 

"Newt, don't!" Tina said. In any other situation Graves might have laughed at the sight of such a slight man barreling towards him. In this situation, he took it quite seriously. He obviously outweighed Newt and had more combat training so he was easily able to catch Newt's arms. What Newt lacked in skill though, he made up for with determination. Graves didn't want to use magic on Newt, but he didn't want to hurt the man either. However, luck was on his side and he eventually got Newt under control pushing him up against the wall and holding his arms together before binding them with a gesture of his hands, and no wand, or words. Newt was breathing hard but still tried to twist out of Graves' grip.

 

"Kid, calm down, I-" Graves began but Newt wasn't listening. Realizing he wasn't able to break free, he went for plan b.

 

"Please, not her, please, please," Newt pleaded with Graves. "I - I'll do anything . . . anything!" he insisted. "Whatever you want, just please . . . not Tina." His face was covered in tears. He turned and pressed his forehead into the wall, squeezing his eyes shut. "Please," he repeated, sounding like a man who'd just used up the only hope he had left.

 

"Whoa, take it easy okay? I'm the real me. I picked you two up from the train station earlier remember?" Graves said, not sure what else to do. He just wanted to get the man calmed down and back to reality.

 

"What?" Newt asked, confused.

 

"It's true Newt. It's really him," Tina chimed in, trying to inch a little closer so he could see her face. He craned his neck around to see her and she nodded. "It's okay, you had a dream, but you're safe now, remember?"

 

Graves could see the clarity returning to Newt's eyes as he processed everything. He shifted his weight to release Newt but he must have pressed on a different part of Newt's back. In an instant Newt's expression changed from one of semi-realization to one of pain. "Ahh," Newt gasped. His knees buckled. Graves caught him before he hit the ground and let him down gently, supporting him so he wouldn't fall over.

 

"Newt!" Tina rushed towards him.

 

"Damn, sorry, I didn't think I was . . . " Graves trailed off. There was blood seeping through the back of Newt's shirt.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Extra mini chapter because I forgot to paste this part in to the last chapter. Oops! Sorry. Enjoy!

"Newt, what happened!?" Tina asked. She and Graves both took an arm to help him up. "When did you get hurt?" she asked. She'd been with him constantly. How had anything happened to him?

 

Newt was silent, concentrating on making his feet move. They seemed to be getting stuck to the floorboards and it felt like someone had set his back on fire, which was soaked with blood now. Once they got him on the bed they used magic to cut his shirt off. It was ruined anyways.

 

Tina gasped and Graves nearly dropped his wand at what they saw. Along Newt's back, diagonally, ran five long open bleeding gashes. "Newt, god, when did this happen?! How?!" Tina pushed the hair out of Newt's face, which was half buried in the pillow underneath him. His eyes were glazed and unfocused. He blinked to try and clear them but the room was spinning and he just wanted so badly to sleep. Tina had asked him a question though. He struggled to answer. "Souvenir," Newt mumbled, the word slurring as he passed out.

 

"What? Newt, you need to stay awake!" Tina shouted at him, shaking him. Graves pulled her off.

 

"We need to get him some help. He's losing a lot of blood. I don't know what this is but I can't heal it," Graves said. He waved his hands over one of the wounds again just to prove it to Tina. Nothing happened.

 

Tina nodded and Graves apparated them straight into MCUSA's healing wing.

 

"Help!" Tina shouted to the nearest healer. The man ran towards them and called for others to join him. Soon there were four healers helping to move Newt down the hall.

 

"What happened?" one of them asked.

 

"We don't know. But there's some kind of enchantment. We've tried healing them but we can't. Please hurry. He's lost a lot of blood," Tina informed them. They continued on through a set of doors and Tina and Graves were left behind.


	14. Chapter 14

Tina was waiting alone when the healers finally emerged. Graves had gone to his office when morning came. He didn't have to be in his office on a Saturday but he, like Tina, didn't like sitting around.

 

Tina jumped up as soon as she saw the man. "Is he okay?" she asked frantically.

 

"Ms. Golstein, Mr. Scamander has been asking for you. I'll show you to him," the healer said as he guided Tina down the hall. "Mr. Scamander had these same wounds a few days ago when we first received him. They were mostly healed when he arrived and they were completely healed, like his other injuries, by the time he left. It seems these particular wounds however were inflicted with some sort of cursed instrument. Magic can't heal them. At least, our magic can't, and once they've healed on their own, they reappear. We've done what we can. This is a job for your department now Ms. Goldstein." They stopped outside a door on the far end of the corridor.

 

"Could you send someone to inform Mr. Graves. He'll be heading the investigation. He needs to know what he's looking for." The healer nodded and opened the door for Tina to walk through.

 

"Of course Ms. Golstein. We'll let him know."

 

She stood in the doorway and watched Newt for a few moments before walking over to him. He was laid on his stomach on the bed. His torso was wrapped in bandages. She pulled a chair up to the side of the bed and sat down. Newt's eyes were closed and he looked to be in a very peaceful state, but not sleeping. She brushed his hair back and curled her fingers around his ear, resting her palm on his cheek.

 

Newt sleepily opened his eyes. "Tina," he said dreamily, "hi."

 

"Hi," she replied with a chuckle. "They gave you the good stuff huh," she asked.

 

"Oh Yeah," Newt said with a dopey grin.

 

"Well, you sleep for a while then," she told him, and he did.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! So sorry it took me so long to update! Wow, I bet y'all never thought this would happen but here I am. I've cut this chapter shorter than I intended for it to be because I'm hoping to possibly tie it into a new story. Stay tuned! As always, thank you for any kind reviews or comments.

When Newt woke again Tina was sitting by his bed. She didn't notice his eyes were open right away, she was so focused on the book in her hands. When she finally glanced up she jumped. "How long have you been awake?" she asked, putting the book down and taking his hand.

 

"Just a few minutes," Newt said. "What's that you're reading?" he nodded towards the book.

 

"Oh, a book from our archives, on cursed objects," she said. Newt frowned at that.

 

"You're on vacation," he said. Clearly feeling bad that she was having to work because of him.

 

"No, _we_ are on vacation. And the faster we figure out how to fix this, the faster we can get back to enjoying our vacation time, _together_ ," she said, leaning over to kiss him with a sly smile on her face.

  
She sat back down and began reading. "He'll never be gone will he?" said Newt suddenly after a few minutes of silence. Tina looked back up at him.

 

"He will," she said. "I promise. Don't give up."  
 

He smiled then, like the idea of giving up with her around was absurd. "Don't worry darling. I know you wouldn't let me if I tried."

 

Tina sat there thinking for a while. "Newt?" she asked. His eyes had fallen shut again but he wasn't sleeping.

  
"Yes?"

 

"How would you like it if the two of us took a trip together, to England?"

 

His eyes remained closed but a smile found its way onto his face. "Yes. I think that would be very nice."

 

"Good, well, of course we'll have to get you fixed up first but I don’t imagine it will take them very long to find what we need. And I imagine Mr. Graves will be glad to get us out of his hair for a while."

 

"That sounds like a plan Ms. Goldstein," Newt said.

 

"Yes Mr. Scamander, I believe it does."


End file.
